Locus Recommended Reading for 2017 Books

[Chris]

Locus Magazine has announced its recommended reading list for publications of 2017 and awards ballot. Below are the categories most likely to be of interest to this group.

Best SF Novel

The Rift, Nina Allan
The Massacre of Mankind, Stephen Baxter
The Berlin Project, Gregory Benford
Persepolis Rising, James S.A. Corey
Walkaway, Cory Doctorow
Gnomon, Nick Harkaway
The Stars Are Legion, Kameron Hurley
Mother Go, James Patrick Kelly
The Moon and the Other, John Kessel
Tomorrow’s Kin, Nancy Kress
Shattered Minds, Laura Lam
Provenance, Ann Leckie
Raven Stratagem, Yoon Ha Lee
The Corporation Wars: Emergence, Ken MacLeod
Austral, Paul McAuley
Wolf Moon, Ian McDonald
The Last Good Man, Linda Nagata
Null States, Malka Older
Seven Surrenders, Ada Palmer
The Wrong Stars, Tim Pratt
From the Wreck, Jane Rawson
The Real-Town Murders, Adam Roberts
New York 2140, Kim Stanley Robinson
The Collapsing Empire, John Scalzi
Sourdough, Robin Sloan
Empire Games, Charles Stross
Borne, Jeff VanderMeer
Bannerless, Carrie Vaughn

Best Fantasy Novel

The Stone in the Skull, Elizabeth Bear
City of Miracles, Robert Jackson Bennett
Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr, John Crowley
The House of Binding Thorns, Aliette de Bodard
The Ruin of Angels, Max Gladstone
Spoonbenders, Daryl Gregory
Exit West, Mohsin Hamid
An Unkindness of Magicians, Kat Howard
The Stone Sky, N.K. Jemisin
The River Bank: A sequel to Kenneth Grahame’s The Wind in the Willows, Kij Johnson
Jade City, Fonda Lee
Blackthorne, Stina Leicht
A Tyranny of Queens, Foz Meadows
The Beautiful Ones, Silvia Moreno-Garcia
Corpselight, Angela Slatter
The Delirium Brief, Charles Stross
Fair Rebel, Steph Swainston
Creatures of Will and Temper, Molly Tanzer
Horizon, Fran Wilde
The Heart of What Was Lost, Tad Williams
Quillifer, Walter Jon Williams

Best First Novel

The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden
The Guns Above, Robyn Bennis
Tropic of Kansas, Christopher Brown
The City of Brass, S.A. Chakraborty
An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors, Curtis Craddock
Dreadnought, April Daniels
Forest of a Thousand Lanterns, Julie C. Dao
Amberlough, Lara Elena Donnelly
The Prey of Gods, Nicky Drayden
Winter Tide, Ruthanna Emrys
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, Theodora Goss
Wintersong, S. Jae-Jones
An Excess Male, Maggie Shen King
Weave a Circle Round, Kari Maaren
All Our Wrong Todays, Elan Mastai
The Art of Starving, Sam J. Miller
Autonomous, Annalee Newitz
The Tiger's Daughter, K Arsenault Rivera
Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders
An Unkindness of Ghosts, Rivers Solomon
Lotus Blue, Cat Sparks
Barbary Station, R.E. Stearns
Amatka, Karin Tidbeck

[Paul]

More stuff to add to the wanted list! I can't wait to read Gnomon & Borne


The Bear and the Nightingale was so good, astonishingly so for a first novel

[Sarah]

This is a great list. I’ve read about 6 or 7 of these and they were all 4 stars or above with the exception of The City of Brass which just wasn’t for me. Thanks for putting this together!

[Sarah]

Thanks for posting!

[Sarah]

Both Autonomous and An Excess Male are in our current polls.

[Sarah]

I'm curious about Lincoln in the Bardo being on here. It's not the author's first novel.

[Monica]

Sarah Anne wrote: "I'm curious about Lincoln in the Bardo being on here. It's not the author's first novel."

It actually is his first novel. His other books are story collections.

[Sarah]

Oh, that makes sense. Thanks Monica!

[Silvana]

I liked this list a lot. Read five or six and loved them all. I also have a dozen on my TBR and maybe lists. Crowley's Ka, Newitz's Autonomous, Robinson's NY 2140, and Kessel's The Moon and the Other are my ultimate picks.

[Chris]

The Nebula Award nominees were announced a while ago, and the Hugo Award nominees were announced yesterday. I thought I'd put the Best Novel lists here so I could have them all in one place.

Nebula Best Novel Nominees

Amberlough, Lara Elena Donnelly
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, Theodora Goss
Spoonbenders, Daryl Gregory
The Stone Sky, N.K. Jemisin 🏆
Six Wakes, Mur Lafferty
Jade City, Fonda Lee
Autonomous, Annalee Newitz

Hugo Best Novel Nominees

The Stone Sky, N.K. Jemisin 🏆
Six Wakes, Mur Lafferty
Provenance, Ann Leckie
Raven Stratagem, Yoon Ha Lee
New York 2140, Kim Stanley Robinson
The Collapsing Empire, John Scalzi

[Sarah]

Thanks, Chris. I have Jade City on next month's random poll, I think. I keep hesitating on Alchemist's Daughter because I'm afraid it will clean up on votes. I try really hard not to have an obvious winner when I create those.

[Jain]

Sarah Anne wrote: "I keep hesitating on Alchemist's Daughter because I'm afraid it will clean up on votes. I try really hard not to have an obvious winner when I create those."

You could put Amberlough on a random poll instead. It's a lot less buzz-y, with only a quarter as many GR ratings as Alchemist's Daughter.

(Full disclosure: Amberlough was one of my absolute favorite books from last year, while I gave Alchemist's Daughter one star. So I'm a liiiiittle bit biased. :-) )

[Donald]

Sarah Anne wrote: "I keep hesitating on Alchemist's Daughter because I'm afraid it will clean up on votes. I try really hard not to have an obviou..."

I literally grabbed it off the new releases shelf at my library knowing nothing about it. I now have 18 days left to read it... if it's an "obvious winner", maybe that's enough impetus for me to pick it up. :)

[Silvana]

Amberlough looks fantastic. Adding that.

I also read Six Wakes sample. While I find it quite entertaining some parts of it are not too original. Waking up in a ship after a cryo sleep with clones and stuff. Wonder if the plot and characters are worth the read.

[Trike]

The “waking up without a memory” is so overused now that I groan out loud whenever I see it. Another book on that list. The Stars Are Legion, uses that, too, so I’m not reading that one either.

[Allison, Fairy Mod-mother]

Silvana wrote: "Amberlough looks fantastic. Adding that.

I also read Six Wakes sample. While I find it quite entertaining some parts of it are not too original. Waking up in a ship after a cryo sleep with clones ..."

You can check out the First Impressions thread!

https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...

[MadProfessah]

Definitely interested in reading SIX WAKES but the others are “meh” to me. I hope jemisin pulls off the hat trick!!

[Silvana]

Allison wrote: "Silvana wrote: "Amberlough looks fantastic. Adding that.

I also read Six Wakes sample. While I find it quite entertaining some parts of it are not too original. Waking up in a ship after a cryo sl..."

I will!

Trike wrote: "The “waking up without a memory” is so overused now that I groan out loud whenever I see it. Another book on that list. The Stars Are Legion, uses that, too, so I’m not reading that..."

there are many, many stuff in We Are...dammit, I mean The Stars are Legion, which would make you forget the amnesia part.

[Bobby]

I actually really liked Six Wakes. Yes, the clone and amnesia thing isn't really original any more, but it was more like a mystery/thriller that used those elements. For me it was a fast paced, fun read, and I was invested in at least some of the characters.

[Trike]

Silvana wrote: "make you forget the amnesia part"

I see what you did there.

[Chris]

Locus announced its finalists, ten per category. One winner per category will be picked by members' votes and announced at the Locus Awards Weekend in June.

Science Fiction Novel finalists

Persepolis Rising, James S.A. Corey
Walkaway, Cory Doctorow
The Stars Are Legion, Kameron Hurley
Provenance, Ann Leckie
Raven Stratagem, Yoon Ha Lee
Wolf Moon, Ian McDonald
Seven Surrenders, Ada Palmer
New York 2140, Kim Stanley Robinson
The Collapsing Empire, John Scalzi 🏆
Borne, Jeff VanderMeer

Fantasy Novel finalists

The Stone in the Skull, Elizabeth Bear
City of Miracles, Robert Jackson Bennett
Ka: Dar Oakley in the Ruin of Ymr, John Crowley
The House of Binding Thorns, Aliette de Bodard
The Ruin of Angels, Max Gladstone
Spoonbenders, Daryl Gregory
The Stone Sky, N.K. Jemisin 🏆
Jade City, Fonda Lee
The Delirium Brief, Charles Stross
Horizon, Fran Wilde

First Novel finalists

The Bear and the Nightingale, Katherine Arden
The City of Brass, S.A. Chakraborty
Amberlough, Lara Elena Donnelly
Winter Tide, Ruthanna Emrys
The Strange Case of the Alchemist’s Daughter, Theodora Goss 🏆
The Art of Starving, Sam J. Miller
Autonomous, Annalee Newitz
Lincoln in the Bardo, George Saunders
An Unkindness of Ghosts, Rivers Solomon
Amatka, Karin Tidbeck